


Rescue

by AlexaNDYE



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Marvel women kicking ass, Pepper as Rescue, Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-01 10:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2770370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexaNDYE/pseuds/AlexaNDYE
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony, Steve, and Thor go missing during a mission, and it's up to Pepper, Melinda May, Maria Hill, and Natasha Romanoff to save them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday to downeyy!

It’s been about a year since Tony had cured Pepper of Extremis. Nothing really changed during that time. Tony continued to work on his suits of armor and go on missions with the rest of the Avengers. Pepper continued to run Stark Industries by discussing the use of more Stark Towers with the Board of Directors. Since they were both equally occupied, they only saw each other in the morning and at night, but every now and then, Tony would check up on her to either say hi, all while teasing her, or to reassure her of his eminent arrival from a mission.

It was about three days since Tony left for a mission with Steve and Thor when she got a call from Agent Romanoff, and none of it was good news.

Pepper was working on her laptop when her cell phone started ringing. One glance and she saw it was from a blocked number. She furrowed her eyebrows and answered it. “Hello?”

“Pepper?” She heard Natasha’s voice.

“Hey, Nat.” Pepper replied and continued to type away. She was busy and distracted, and only heard the last few words of what Natasha was saying. She stopped abruptly as a look of utter fear washed over her face. “What?”

“We can’t find them.”

Pepper’s mouth gapped and her eyes widened. “No—what—how?”

“I don’t know.” Natasha rounded the control panel in front of her and used the UI to pull up a record of the last known ping they got from Tony’s suit. “The last time they checked in was over twenty-four hours ago. I tried calling them, but no one picked up, not even Thor. The last known location from Tony’s suit was in the middle of Afghanistan.” Natasha paused to pull up the mission’s information folder. File icons spilled out and were displayed in stacks.

“JARVIS?” Pepper asked.

“I’m afraid I cannot communicate with the suit. Something is interfering me from getting a signal.” The AI responded. “The location I’m receiving is the same as Agent Romanoff’s.”

“What does Fury and Coulson have to say about this?” Pepper asked worriedly. Fear was consuming her as her mouth dried. Nightmares of Afghanistan flooded her again, and she heard Obediah’s voice, telling her Tony was dead.

“They’re assembling a team right now.” Natasha informed her. “But it doesn’t sound like a rescue mission. It sounds like a search party.”

Pepper heard Tony’s voice in her head, explaining his latest project to her. Small drones that could search a mile radius in less than a minute. When she asked who they were for, he explained to her it was a special project that Fury kept him on for faster, and more advanced, search parties. They would replace the use of field agents and relay information to base. This was before she pulled him by his tie and used bedroom eyes to pull him away from the lab.

“Pepper.” Natasha said, snapping her out of it.

“They’ll probably use the drones to search the area.”

“It’ll take at least a few hours to get all the information, given that they’re still in Afghanistan.” Natasha sighed.

“Where’s Clint?”

“Where else?” Natasha briefly smirked. “Farms can’t take care of themselves.”

Pepper remembered another batch of Tony’s wise words—something about pings that relayed information through a secure and discrete communications link in the suit.

“JARVIS.” Pepper got up from her seat and walked over to the kitchen counter. She tapped on the surface twice, and a login screen UI was shown. Pepper logged in and the words ‘Welcome Miss Potts’ scrolled from bottom to top in ones and zeroes. A whole database filled with Tony’s schematics, blueprints, information, and private servers, was displayed. “When was the ping from Tony’s suit?”

“About six hours ago.” The AI responded.

“There have to be communication links all around Afghanistan. JARVIS, can you ping the links?”

“Processing…”

Natasha narrowed her eyes. “Where are you going with this, Pepper?”

“Whatever is interfering JARVIS from communicating with the suit means there’s some sort of jamming signal. There has to be a radius to it, which means—“

“—Wherever JARVIS can’t reach gives us a good indication of where they might be.” Natasha began to smile. “I’m impressed.”

Pepper returned the smile. “I’ve learned a few things lately. Tony likes to talk in his sleep.”

“All signals in Afghanistan have been reached.”

Both Pepper and Natasha furrowed their eyebrows. “That’s impossible.” Pepper muttered.

“Whoever captured them could’ve moved them elsewhere.” Natasha pulled up more files that contained information on the mission. “Looks like they’re finally getting smarter.”

“JARVIS, can you reach nearby areas?”

“I will try.”

Pepper bit her lip and pulled up a map of the world. She saw a big blue dot, where Tony’s last known location was, and a bunch of green dots, indicating the areas that could be reached. She watched as multiple green dots popped up as JARVIS continued his search. Just when she thought the search failed again, she noticed a small blue dot near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“JARVIS, what was that?” Pepper asked, tapping on the dot and zooming in on the area.

“I do not know, Miss Potts. The signal lasted less than half a millisecond.”

“Aren’t we on one of Tony’s private servers?”  

“We are.”

“Pepper, do you think...?” Natasha spoke up.

Pepper wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but they were in a tough spot, and everything made sense. Tony rarely gave up without a fight and even if there was a very small chance that the ping came from him, they couldn’t just ignore it.

“It might be. Tell them to send the drones to the location.” Pepper replied.

“They’ve already sent out the drones.” Natasha walked over to one of the Agents’ terminals on the commanding deck and watched the drones relay empty information. “It’ll be another three or four hours before they’re done, and I doubt Coulson wants to follow an unknown trail before scoping out the initial area.”

Pepper pressed her lips together and continued to look at the small blinking blue dot. “We can’t wait for them to finish. By the time they’re done and move on to Pakistan, it might already be too late.”

“I know what you’re suggesting, Pepper.” Natasha watched lines of empty information from the droids fall down the screen. “I can’t go in blind without backup.”

“I agree.” Pepper swiped the map over and tapped on a few icons. She tapped in her access code and began to sift through the various suits of armor that were ready to be deployed. “Which is why you won’t be going in without backup.”

“Pepper—“

“Nat, we don’t have a choice.”

“No, we do have a choice—“

“You don’t have to go with me.”

Natasha let out a heavy sigh. “You’re not making this easy.”

“JARVIS, ready the Mark 61 and load it with the coordinates.” Pepper ordered. “Listen, Natasha. You can either come with me or wait until the drones are done. Your choice.”

There was silence. Natasha was torn between going with the original plan and using droids, and helping Pepper. She was known to follow the plan, but even plans sometimes change, and she was aware of her duty as an Avenger and an Agent. The mission that Tony, Steve, and Thor were on was known to be highly dangerous, and being captured could very well lead to death.

Natasha let out another long sigh. “I know a few people that could help. I’ll send you the coordinates.”

Pepper’s lips formed a small smile.

\--

“Uploading the map.” Jemma said into their earpieces.

“My droid isn’t as fast as Stark’s, but it gets the job done.” Fitz said as the droid folded back into its case.

“I’m seeing a lot of heat signatures you guys… at least fifty. Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Coulson and the others?” Skye asked as she clicked away on her laptop. The three of them were working inside a cloaked SHIELD quinjet while May, Natasha, Maria, and Pepper worked outside the perimeter, about ten miles away.

“We don’t have that kind of time.” Pepper said, watching the map digitize itself on her HUD.

May took a few glances at the red and silver suit that seemed to fit Pepper’s body quite well. “Nice suit.”

“Thanks.” Pepper smirked. “Tony’s been nagging me to put it on since he built it.”

“How long has that been?” Maria asked.

“About six months.” Pepper replied.

“Sounds painful.” Natasha took out a metal sphere and projected the map for everyone else to look at.

“When you’ve been with Tony for over twelve years, you kind of get used to it.” Pepper smiled, remembering how Tony asked her almost every night. He’d kiss her, wrap his arms around her, pull her against his chest, and ruin the mood by asking her.

“I’m counting five of them.” May said, looking down at the map and watching the heat signatures. “Five at the entrance. Ten at the first level. Ten at the second level. Maybe more.”

“This isn’t going to be easy.” Maria pressed her finger against her earpiece. “Skye, can you get around the jamming signal?”

“No, not unless you take it out completely.”

“We can’t force our way through. That would be suicide.” Natasha spun the map so it displayed all the levels of the underground fortress.

Skye bit her bottom lip. “If you guys can take out the jamming signal, JARVIS can access the Iron Man suit. That would be our best bet.”

“They might use whatever they used to disable Tony’s suit in the first place.” Pepper chimed in.

“Leave that to me. They probably used an EMP.” Skye reassured them. “Just take out that jamming signal and I’ll do the rest.”

The entrance composed of two large steel doors that were covered with a concrete cover. From a distance, it looked like a heavily guarded, oversized, concrete, outdoor toilet. The jamming signal was coming from the first floor, but getting through the five guards without sounding the alarm was going to be tough.

May set a few metal spheres on the ground and tapped on the heat signatures on the projected map. Everyone watched as the spheres rolled towards the guarded entrance.

“What do those do?” Maria asked with furrowed eyebrows.

In less than a minute, the entrance was surrounded in a large yellow cloud.

“Knockout gas. Powerful enough to take out ten elephants.” May replied.

“Could throw a few dozen in there and shut the door.” Pepper suggested with a small shrug.

“I only had five.” May said as she began to walk towards the doors.

“She likes to keep things interesting.” Maria chimed in with a small smile.

\--

“Full house.” One of the men said, throwing down his cards in the middle and flashing a smile.

“Wh—“ One of the other four players said. “You cheated!”

“Fuck you. I didn’t cheat.” The man replied.

“This is bullshit!” The enraged man threw his cards down.

“This is boring.” One of the other men sighed. “When are they going to launch the missiles?”

“They delayed it ever since Forest captured those three Avengers.”

“There was only three of them.”

“Yeah, but it only takes one to launch a more advanced attack.” A man in green replied from the corner.

“Stark.”

“Exactly.”

Without warning, one of the men from the hallway got blasted through the wall, knocking out two of the men at the table.

“What the fuck!?” One of the men shouted and reached for his hand gun, but a kick to the head prevented him from going any further.

“What did I say about guns at the table?” Natasha taunted and kicked the gun away.

Maria and May each knocked out a man, and only one was left. Pepper kept her repulsor rays on him while Natasha watched him reach for his gun that was on his holster.

“I wouldn’t do that.” Nat suggested. The man’s eyes widened as all weapons were on him. Without a word, he released his gun and put his hands up. “Wise man.” Nat said before punching him square in the face and knocking him out.

“Jamming signal should be around here somewhere.” Maria said, walking over the unconscious men.

“I’ll check the next room.” May replied.

“So, any plans for Christmas?” Nat asked as she checked the men’s pockets.

“Eggnog.” Maria replied while she checked one of the other rooms.

“Tony likes to keep things simple and celebrate with just the two of us.” Pepper said as she kept an eye on the stairs that lead to the second floor. Her HUD allowed her to view the heat signatures through the walls and flooring.

“Isn’t Fury hosting a holiday party this year?” May asked.

“He is.” Nat replied as she finished searching the last man. “Beneath that eye-patch is a jolly holiday loving man.” She sarcastically added.

“Found it.” May shouted from the adjacent room. She opened the metal box on the wall and ripped out the jammer. “Skye?”

“Already on it.” Skye replied.

“JARVIS.” Pepper asked.

“I can access the suit, but it’s going to take some time for it to be fully functional. The EMP wiped my system controls completely.” The AI responded.

“I’m shorting all of the EMP signatures… and… Done.” Skype responded. “Hacking into the cameras...”

“Start moving to the next floor.” Nat ordered.

The four of them moved down the stairs unnoticed, but once they opened the metal door that separated them from the second floor, they saw, what looked to be, a whole army of guards patrolling in and out of the floor.

“We’re going to need a distraction.” May whispered.

“I’ve got it covered.” Skye replied. “Be ready to move in thirty seconds.”

_Boom!_

A large explosion went off in the other side of the large room. All guards turned their attention towards the cloud of smoke, and some rushed towards it in confusion and panic.

“What the fuck was that?” They heard one of the guards yell as more men jogged towards the explosion.

“Sir, we’ve lost communication with squad six!” They heard one of them shout.

“Shit…” A man in Kevlar, with one assault rifle on his neck and one in his arms, sudden appeared. He was big, bigger than Thor, and sounded Russian. “I want everybody to keep their eyes peeled. The Commander will not tolerate any interruptions with the plan! And put that damn fire out!”

“Uh oh.” Skye muttered.

“Oh boy.” They heard Jemma’s voice behind Skye’s.

“What happened?” Nat asked.

“Um… Not to alarm you guys or anything, but there is a convoy of men approaching the large doors outside. I’m counting seven, maybe six.”

“Seven!?” Maria grounded out under her breath.

“Or six...” Jemma tried to be reassuring but none of it was.

“You guys need to move fast and get the three of them out of there. I can set off multiple diversions, but the more I set off, the more they’ll know. They’re probably increasing security wherever they’re holding them right now.” Skye informed them as she typed away on her computer.

“Ooh, tell May to use the… uh…” Fitz snapped his fingers and pointed at Jemma, hoping she knew what he was talking about.

“…The F-10-X?”

“Ooh, that’s a good one.” Skye’s eyes lit up.

Everyone looked at May, and May rolled her eyes. She continued to watch multiple men come and go, and after a minute or two of silence, she felt Maria nudge her arm.

“You going to use it?” Maria asked with a curious tone.

“I’d rather save it for a special occasion. Besides…” May reached out, grabbed one of the lone men passing by, knocked him out and took the grenade hooked on his belt. “…I haven’t had this much action in a while.” She threw the grenade towards the crowded area and watched the explosion set off two more.

“Move now.” Skye ordered.

All four of them tried to move as quietly as they could. In Pepper’s case, she turned on a cloaking mechanism and followed them, as the blue glow in the center of her chest would’ve been an eyesore. They managed to stealthily walk towards the door to the third floor. May cracked it open a little bit and immediately closed it.

“How many?” Maria asked.

“At least ten. They’re all on high alert.” May looked at them with. “Skye?”

“Kind of busy with the guys on floor two.” Skye said hastily. “Whatever you think of, I’d do it fast. There are multiple men homing in on your position.”

“Shit.” Maria cursed.

“Pepper,” Nat began. “Do you think you could create a diversion for us?”

“I’ll try.” Pepper said as she squeezed past them and opened the door. “Be ready.” All three of them nodded. Without warning, Pepper used her repulsors on one of the men nearest to her. Thanks to the hybrid repulsor technology and portable electromagnetic superfield generators, her speed was twice as fast as Tony’s regular Iron Man suit, and her strength was on par with Igor, one of the older suits of armor.

She used the suits thrusters and rushed towards her enemies.

“Trouble in sector three!” One of them yelled into their coms. “Trouble in sector—“ Pepper blasted him into a wall, knocking him unconscious.

The man in Kevlar, as well as all the men on floor two, turned their heads towards the doors and saw Nat, Maria, and May standing there.

“Shoot the doors!” The man yelled.

“Shit!” May cursed as all three of them rushed through the door and closed it. Thankfully, the door was a harder version of steel and wasn’t easily penetrable by bullets. “Pepper, I’m going to need you to seal the door!”

All three of them pressed themselves against the door as they felt a highly accurate beam of red light seal the space between the doors. Right as it was sealed, they were under gunfire. Nat turned around and took out her handguns while Maria and May did the same. They ducked behind cover near the entrance and began to open fire on their enemies.

“Go find them!” Pepper ordered. “I got this!”

Nat knocked out a man that tried to rush towards them, while May and Maria rushed towards the end of the open hallway. Nat rushed after them, and after opening several large steel doors, they finally found them. Pepper had her back to them as she continued to hold off their enemies with her repulsors.

Tony, Steve, and Thor were each contained in their own plastic cell, and each of them were chained to a large metal post that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Steve and Thor were completely knocked out, while Tony jolted up when he heard the doors push open.

His eyes fluttered open as he saw the three of them standing there. “Oh, hey. Come to join the party?” He smiled weakly. Various cuts and bruises were strewn throughout his clothed, yet tattered, body, and none of it looked mildly pleasant.

Nat looked around the empty room and noticed two control panels on the other side of the wall, which she assumed controlled the entire room. She was all too familiar with the layout, and the first thing that came to her mind was torture. With only Tony the one currently awake and with fresh wounds, she assumed the worst.

“Are you okay?” Nat asked him while Maria and May looked for a way to get them out.

“Been better.” Tony winced as pain struck his side.

Gunfire continued to rain in on the other side of the door, and the sound of metal scraping and a loud thud alerted all of them—and then there was a moment of silence. Both Maria and May slowly reached for their guns; they almost pulled them out when the doors swung open.

Everyone watched as silver and red strips flew through, screeching and sparking at the feet. Pepper shut the doors behind her, took a few steps back, and pulled her arms up. She pushed out beams of red light from her wrists and sealed the doors.

Pepper blew out a sigh and lowered her arms.

“We need to move quickly. They’re moving in on our position—especially the big one.” Pepper said as she looked around the room.

“Honey?” She heard the weak voice and turned her head. She saw Tony, chained to the pole, and covered in bruises and cuts. Her suit did an automatic scan of his vitals and bodily condition, and what she saw scared her. He had various bruised and broken bones, and it didn’t look like he’d be able to walk very much.

“Tony…” She gasped and slowly approached him. Nat twisted something on the panel and pressed a button. The clear walls that separated Tony, Thor, and Steve from the four of them lifted. Pepper reached out and just before her gauntlet touched him, it retracted backwards, uncovering and revealing her soft white hand. She caressed his cheek and gently ran her thumb along the gash on his cheekbone.

He smiled weakly at her. “You finally put it on.” He coughed and he winced in pain. “Looks good on you.”

She tried to smile, but it only turned into a frown. His body was in worse shape than they everyone else thought, but only Pepper knew.

The single hard pound against the door made all of them whip their heads around in panic to look at its source.

“We need to leave.” May announced, while Nat and Maria rushed to Steve and Thor’s aid.

Steve awoke with a sleepy moan. Thor’s eyes shot open, almost immediately, and his muscles tensed until he realized where he was and who he was with.

“What happened?” Steve asked, rubbing the side of his head.

“A lot.” Tony winced as Pepper helped him out of the metal cuffs.

“Are you two okay?” Nat asked as she undid the cuffs on Steve’s wrists.

“Yeah… I think.” Steve rubbed his wrists when he was let free.

“They ambushed us.” Thor said, walking out of the clear prison. “Some blue wave and then gas, is all I remember.”

“An EMP and sleeping gas.” Tony said with a wince. Pepper caught him once he was let free. He put his arm around Pepper’s waist and leaned on her. “Took out my suit first and then them two. There was nothing we could do.”

“They knew you were coming?” Maria asked with a raised eyebrow.

“They seemed well prepared, too.” Steve walked to the other side of his room to retrieve his shield, as did Thor with his hammer.

The suit across the room powered up and its eyes glowed blue.

“Oh, thank god.” Tony muttered. “J, you there?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Help me into the suit.” He told Pepper, but she didn’t budge.

“Tony.” She replied sternly. “You are not fit to operate the suit.”

“Miss Potts is right.” The suit responded.

“Screw you two. I’m fine.” Tony grunted as he tried to move away from Pepper, but almost fell forwards once he was on his own. Pepper caught him with a hand on his chest, but the sudden jerk and pressure on his chest made pain spike through his body. He grunted as Pepper got a hold of him. He gasped and struggled to breathe as he clutched his chest. He cursed under his breath and felt Pepper wrap an arm behind him.

Another pound at the door sounded.

“You guys need to leave, right now.” Everyone heard Skye say.

May opened the door behind the panel and ushered everyone to go. Everyone ran to the door and Pepper tried her best to rush Tony through the door, but with his injuries, she could only go so fast without hurting him.

The doors burst open and five men had their guns immediately pointed at Pepper. Forest, the commander, as well as the large man, larger than Thor, stood behind the front line; he had one hand on his Kevlar vest and another on the gun strap that looped around his chest.

“Fire.”

Pepper’s eyes widened and her body twisted. She heard May and Steve shout their names. She pulled Tony down against her body, and she hugged him, trying to shield him from the rain of bullets that burst at them.

Tony closed his eyes and heard the sound of bullets bouncing off the titanium armor.

“I got you.” He heard her say, making him smirk.

JARVIS stepped in and started firing repulsor rays at the men. A few dived out of the way and the rest were flung backwards. Forest brought his arm up to shield himself from debris that shot up from the blast.

Pepper scooped up Tony and rushed him through the doors, and JARVIS shot off a few more repulsor rays before he followed them. May pushed one of the buttons on a panel behind the doors. After the doors closed, she smashed the console and ran down the corridor with everyone else.

“Any idea where we’re going?” Steve asked.

“We are not safe here.” Thor filled in.

“Skye?” Nat stood at the corner and peaked around it. She signaled everyone to continue walking.

“You guys are on the right track.” Jemma replied. “Keep going down until you see a second corridor on your right. Take that one down until you see stairs.”

“The missiles.” Tony muttered and looked up at Pepper. “They’re going to—“

“I got that covered.” Skye replied. “Trust me. They won’t be going off.” Her fingers flew across the keyboard. Encrypted letters and numbers spewed out on her screen and with a tap on the enter key, a large green bar rolled across.

“Detonation sequence activated.” Everyone inside the base heard. “T-Minus 2 minutes.”

Forest growled in annoyance and ran the opposite way, while everyone around him began to panic.

Nat, Maria, May, Pepper, Tony, Thor, and Steve all ran up the stairs. It was a long way up, but once they made it, they rushed for the quinjet that landed in front of them. The hanger opened, and Skye, Jemma, and Fitz were there to help them in.

“T-Minus 10 seconds.”

Steve, Thor, May, Nat, and Maria rushed on. Pepper and JARVIS carried Tony inside, and carefully lowered him in the back.

“Uh… Guys?” There was panic in Skye’s voice. Everyone looked at her and then at what she was looking at. About a quarter mile away was Forest with a large gun.

“I think that’s a rocket launcher.” Jemma squinted.

“Yep.” Fitz gulped. “That’s definitely—why is no one panicking!?” He let out a small yelp.

“I got it.” Pepper said.

“Here.” May tossed her something.

Pepper caught it and flew out of the quinjet. May moved to the cockpit and took control of the jet. As the hanger closed, Tony watched Pepper fly out.

“Pepper…” He muttered, just before the pain was too much for him to bare.

“He’s unconscious.” JARVIS told them, as everyone was concerned.

“He needs medical treatment, ASAP.” Jemma kneeled next to Tony. The cuts on his face, the bruise under his eye, and the blood on his neck shocked her. “What did they do to him?” She whispered with a slight hiss.

“Go, May.” Maria shouted.

“What about—“ Skye shrieked.

“Pepper’s got it.” Natasha reassured her.

\--

Tony’s eyes began to part open. His vision was blurry at first, but soon, everything in his view cleared. He looked to his left and saw various machines, as well as various cords that were attached to him. He looked to his right, and saw a window and door.

“You’re up.” He heard from the doorway.

Steve emerged from the threshold.

Tony looked around, but there was no sign of Pepper. “Yeah…”

“They tore you apart.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” He coughed and winced as pain shot through him.

“You’re on bed rest for two weeks.”

“You’re not my doctor.” Tony retorted.

“No, but I doubt you’d go against doctor’s orders.” Steve smirked.

“You obviously don’t know me very well.”

“Can’t say I want to.”

“Enough you two.” Nat walked in and glanced at the both of them.

“Where’s—“

“Pepper?” Nat interjected. “She’s filling out your medial forms.”

“SHIELD doesn’t do medical forms.” Tony rolled his eyes.

“They do now.” Coulson walked in with a slight smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Like it’s too crowded in here. A ninety year old grandpa, a ‘supposedly’ dead Agent, and my girlfriend’s best friend.” He glanced at Nat. “I feel like I’m in hell.”

Nat and Steve rolled their eyes while Coulson merely smiled.

“Glad to know you’re still the Tony Stark I remember.” Coulson commented.

Tony’s eyes lit up when he heard the familiar sound of heels clicking against the floor. He watched as Pepper emerged from the threshold. Everyone turned around and quietly filed out, giving the couple their much needed space.

Pepper smiled and approached Tony’s hospital bed. She sat down in one of the chairs to the right of his bed and held onto his hand. He squeezed it and smiled sweetly.

“How are you feeling?” She asked softly.

“Like I got hit by a truck.” He gently stroked her thumb with his, missing how soft her skin felt against his.

“The doctors did an extensive exam.” She informed him. Her voice calmed him to a point where he thought he could blissfully fall asleep.

“Of course they did.” He muttered. “Let me guess. Bed rest for a couple weeks?”

“A month.”

“What?” Tony gasped, and then winced when pain shot through him once again. “Ow… shit…” He sighed. “A whole month?”

“Tony—“

“Pepper.”

“You’re not well enough to use the suit, and JARVIS and I aren’t going to let you near it until you’re fully recovered.” She tried to tell him.

“Wow. My girlfriend and AI are teaming up against me. Next you’ll tell me you’re breaking up with me for him.”

“You know I wouldn’t… at least not now.” She teased, but it didn’t faze him.

“With all bad news aside…” He smiled warmly at her. “You did a really good job.”

“What? You mean when I kicked ass?” She grinned. “Of course I did a good job.”

“So, do you like it?”

“The suit?” She shrugged. “It’s nice.”

“Yeah. You love it.” He teased her.

“I don’t _love_ it. Sometimes it’s really violent.”

“And you used it like you’ve used it before…” He narrowed his eyes at her. “…Pep. Have you been using it behind my back?”

“If I tell you I have?”

“That’s so hot.” He hummed. “You know, we could totally team up and kick ass together. Team Iron Man—and Rhodey can join us.”

“Tony, that’s the last time I’m putting on the suit.”

“What?” He frowned. “But you’re Rescue. You can’t hang up the suit now…”

“Rescue?”

“Yeah. It’s your superhero name.”

“Of all names…”

“Hey, you rescued me, a ninety year-old popsicle, and a Norse god. I think the name fits—and I like it, too.” He reassured her, and squeezed her hand.

She grinned wildly and squeezed his hand back. He brought his hand up to caress her cheek and stroke it with his thumb.

“You know,” she began. “If I were Rescue, I’d have this boyfriend who knew my true identity. He’d be a wreck. He’d always be worrying I was going to die, yet so proud of the woman I’ve become. He’d be wildly conflicted, which would only make him more crazy about me.” He laughed.

“So, what happened to that guy?”

“Hm?”

“The commander.”

“Oh. He’s long gone. I used the F-10-X.”

“The what?”


End file.
